This week in Freak Scene, Trumbull band Driveway Ceiling get a second chance for their psychedelic concept album Death of the Walden Newspaper Co.

The latest edition of The Cherryfield Observer — in fact, the only edition of The Cherryfield Observer — includes a front-page feature on Driveway Ceiling, along with a five-star review of the Trumbull band’s most recent album, Death of the Walden Newspaper Co. It probably won’t come as a surprise that the musicians themselves (with help from Independent Project Records) created the eight-page newspaper as an insert for the physical release of the album. Their commitment to the bit is nearly as impressive as the album itself.

driveway ceilingdeath of the walden newspaper co.

A loosely conceptual song cycle that nominally centers on the patriarch of a fading local media business (a topic of great interest to someone who has worked for one), there’s much more happening on Death of the Walden Newspaper Co. The songs play almost like windows into the emotional lives of people you’d pass on the street in, well, Cherryville (which the band apparently decided is in New Hampshire). There’s love and loneliness, angst and irony, all slotted into songs steeped in a vintage-style psychedelia that evokes late-’60s English bands.

Birdsong and the sound of trickling water open the album on “Sleepy River Dawn,” where prismatic vocals fan out over a wash of rippling tremolo guitars, spacey keyboards and subtle saxophone. A few tracks later, the cloudy-day late-’60s pop song “Black Swan” finds guitarist Liam Mottolese intoning his lyrics with precise enunciation over trebly electric guitar and the tightly coiled rhythm section of Rylan Brittain on drums and Declan Bohner on bass, and Mottolese and guitarist Colin Walsh sing hazy wordless harmonies between verses. Coming midway through the track list, “Mr. Walden” feels like the fulcrum on which the album hinges as the band describes an aging publisher who keeps producing his weekly sheet through continually dwindling returns. “He works all day without a break / And doubts they’ll read his paper anyway,” Mottolese sings, accompanied by tendrils of guitar and keyboards that swirl over a bassline with movement.

Working hard while escaping notice is the existential quandary facing so many people in creative endeavors — including Driveway Ceiling. The band first released Death of the Walden Newspaper Co online in 2023, to basically no fanfare whatsoever. Bruce Licher from Independent Project Records somehow found it, and offered to do a physical release on vinyl and CD. It’s a well-deserved second chance for an album that is thematically adventurous, musically compelling and deeply confident from start to finish. That’s evident in how the band wraps up the album, which is the same way that it begins. An instrumental piano part on the closing track, “Obituary,” gives way to the sound of crickets on a summer night, then circles back to the trickling water and birdsong of the opening song, “Sleepy River Dawn.” The symbolism seems clear enough: every ending is also a beginning.

This Week’s Shows

Outro and Behold! True Believers landed a last-minute-ish gig tonight, Oct. 30, at Blackbird Cafe in Northampton.

The Leenalchi show scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Drake in Amherst has been canceled “due to unforeseen circumstances.”

The full concert calendar is available here for paid subscribers.

Upcoming Concerts

The Academy of Music in Northampton hosts the Buena Vista Orchestra Feb. 11 (tickets) and Gaelic Storm Feb. 28 (tickets).

Whiskey Treaty Roadshow rings in the new year with a show Dec. 31 at the Iron Horse in Northampton (tickets). Also on the schedule: the Gaslight Tinkers Dec. 28 (tickets) and Misty Blues Jan. 10 (tickets).

The Parlor Room in Northampton hosts Advance Base, bobbie and Karima Walker Dec. 3 (tickets), the Kathleen Parks Band Dec. 13 (tickets), Brian Dickens and Maki Matsui in an afternoon show Dec. 20 (tickets), Jake Manzi Dec. 22 (tickets) and Cold Chocolate Jan. 14 (tickets).

Rickie Lee Jones plays Bombyx in Florence Dec. 16 (tickets) and New York Celtic ensemble Solas are there March 3 (tickets).

The Drake in Amherst hosts singer-songwriter Ken Pomeroy Dec. 5 (tickets), Amber Wolfe and Nora Knight Dec. 18 with Stella Kola and Beth Kaplan (tickets), jazz quintet Artemis March 26 (tickets) and Yemeni-Israeli group El Khat April 9 (tickets).

Denver jam band Jalbatross plays the Marigold Theater in Easthampton Nov. 27 (tickets).

Crooked Fingers perform Feb. 4 at the Space Ballroom in Hamden (tickets) in conjunction with the reissue of the band's 2005 LP Dignity and Shame, which has long been my favorite of their albums. Koo Koo, a family-friendly hip-hop comedy duo, are there for a noon show May 16 (tickets).

Actors play May 1 with Hallows at Stone Church in Brattleboro (tickets).

That’s all for this week. Thank you for reading! Previous issues are available in the online archive. Freak Scene is free, but donations help make this happen and are gratefully accepted. If you’re able, please consider a paid subscription!